Institute for Energy Research senior vice president Dan Kish on how President Obama may hold up the Keystone XL pipeline and other energy and infrastructure projects. Photo: Getty Images

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... I ... to protect future generations ... I will ... I will direct ... I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take down in the future ... to reduce pollution ... prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change ... in speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy ... welcome back to Opinion Journal why Mary Kissel ... that was present Obama in his State of the Union in January ... on how he's going to green the U S economy through executive actions ... Institute for Energy Research senior vice president and cash is here ... to talk about the first really major events ... of present wants to expand something called the National Environmental policy Act ... than what is neat ... as it's known and what is the president want to do with it ... Mary ... let me is the National Environmental policy Act that was signed into law on January first nineteen seventy almost the ... half century ago by ... Richard Nixon ... the idea was simple it ... before the government ... takes on any big project or ... gives the go ahead for something ... they should study with the environmental impacts are ... in include that in a document so that the decision maker could ... have some idea what the environmental consequences for so what is the White House wanted you need to now ... they won two of the present is announces begun to leak out that he wants to direct all of the agencies within the federal government to now ... broaden the scope of the that to include ... carbon dioxide ... so why are you know Congress into and this is this is which ... I is so could this affect everything from roasting the Keystone pipeline if they ever see estimates and transportation projects was this a fact ... the of this would be the mother of all environmental laws because they can go on forever ... whether it's a highway with its an egg project whether it's any kind of energy project Keystone for example ... he could say yes to Keystone ... and what it really does is allow groups that oppose these projects ... to take it to court saying that they hadn't done adequate analysis and that and ... how this act is progressively good news ... if it is of ... it is one of the strongest in Burma laws we have now broadened to include carbon dioxide ... means you want to build a new car factory ... theoretically if it requires a federal permit and any time to clear the ground or in the Alps ... the attitude of ... study with the impact of those automobiles would be in carbon dioxide so ... of this is in and around Congress is in and around the fact that we haven't signed the Kyoto treaty ... of but it is consistent with what he said which is that ... after EU ... entry lost the ability to do the cap and tax program back in ... meanwhile million dollars in the past and taxis in the Keystone the entire economy the Institute for Energy Research senior VP Dan Tish thank you so ... much very worrying ...